Tenets of Public Management
and the World War II
Motion Picture Genre
Richard W. Schwester
Introduction
Artistic portrayals can have profound societal impacts. Literature, novels, and poetry can expand
our knowledge of public management, as these artistic mediums create real world situations that
allow us to learn vicariously. The arts offer alternative perspectives on issues related to public sector management and governance in general. Perhaps more importantly, the arts provide fresh insights regarding values, ethics, leadership qualities, and interpersonal skills (Holzer, Morris, and
Ludwin 1979; Waldo 1968). The motion picture is a dynamic artistic medium, as it amplifies
emotions through the combination of imagery and sound. This medium has proven ideal for chronicling the American World War II experience. The World War II film genre has portrayed the
American combat soldier as heroic and resourceful (Suid 2002). These portrayals of actions and
leadership on the battlefield are, to some measure, applicable to contemporary public management. The purpose of this paper is to examine select World War II motion pictures in the context
of the following questions: (1) what tenets do these motion pictures convey, and (2) to what extent do these tenets apply to public management? The motion pictures Patton (1970), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and The Great Escape (1963) are examined.
The World War II Motion Picture Genre
The typical World War II film portrayed ordinary men accomplishing extraordinary tasks. These
pictures displayed courage, camaraderie, and strength of character. The films of the 1940s portrayed the American combat soldier as strong, resourceful, and even humane in the face of war,
characteristics that Humphrey Bogart displays in the film Sahara (1943) (Suid 2002). The films
of the 1940s emphasized patriotism, disdain for authoritarianism, and the virtue of freedom and
democracy. Love of country and sacrifice were championed in films such as Wake Island (1942).
According to Bodnar (2004), Wake Island “evoked memories of American heroism at Valley
Forge and the Alamo,” as the plot entails a brave struggle of U.S. Marines to hold Wake Island
against a Japanese force of superior numbers (Manvell 1974).
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According to McCormick (1999), the films of the 1950s and early 1960s, such as To Hell and Back
(1955), The Longest Day (1962), and The Great Escape (1963), were conveyed as “heroic epics.”
This was largely due to the popularity of World War II and its generation. To Hell and Back is an
autobiographical account of Audie Murphy’s war experience. Having served in campaigns
throughout the North Africa and Europe, Murphy emerged as the most decorated American soldier of the Second World War. He earned thirty-seven medals, including unit accommodations,
campaign medals, and the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor in combat.
The New York Times heralded the film and Murphy’s performance, having written:
Gallantry has been glorified more dramatically on film previously but Mr. Murphy, who still seems to be the shy, serious tenderfoot rather than a titan among
G.I. heroes, lends stature, credibility and dignity to an autobiography that would
be routine and hackneyed without him (New York Times 1955, 21).
The Longest Day chronicles the sheer magnitude and audacity of the Allied invasion of Normandy. D-Day has since been focus of several films, including The Big Red One (1980) and the
critically acclaimed Saving Private Ryan (1998). As its title suggests, The Great Escape dramatically portrays the valor and spirit of Allied POWs in their successful departure from a German
prison camp (Suid 2002; Doherty 1993; Basinger 1986; Manvell 1974). In the Guns of Navarone
(1961), courage is exemplified in a daring attempt to destroy German guns guarding the strategically vital Mediterranean island of Navarone. While the Battle of the Bulge (1965) offers spectacular combat scenes, this film was criticized given its failure to capture the human side of battle.
Where Eagles Dare (1969) is filled with drama, as Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood’s characters scale a mountaintop to rescue an Allied General who is being held prisoner in a German castle. The Bridge at Remagen (1969) depicts the Allies’ attempt to secure the only remaining bridge
across the Rhine River in Germany. Failure to secure the Remagen Bridge would slow the Allied
advance into Germany (Suid 2002). There are undoubtedly common threads throughout the majority of these films. These men are heroic, selfless, and combat is glorified. The American soldier is glorified in that fighting bravely is noble – regardless of the costs. Imbedded throughout
these seemingly patriotic depictions are life lessons as well, some of which are arguably applicable to contemporary public management.
Patton (1970)
Patton is a biographical epic that underscores the tribulations and triumphs of an individual consumed by war. According to Canby (1970a), Patton allows one to delve into the psyche of perhaps
the most brilliant and outrageous military tactician of the 20th century. Patton is described as a
“magnificent anachronism,” referring to Patton’s own belief that he was a 16th century man trapped
in the 20th century. He is portrayed as a romantic warrior. Patton wrote poetry and prayed on his
knees, while at the same time championing the virtues of warlike behavior, usually using profanity
to underscore his points. While a brilliant tactician and leader, Patton is portrayed as an inherently
flawed man. The audience witnesses this first hand when the General slaps a shell-shocked soldier
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for what he thought was cowardly behavior – that is, shying away from battle. Canby (1970a, 33)
contends, “Patton’s genius as a tactician excused his vanities, his ignorances, and his seeming mental instability.” Canby (1970b, 15) maintains that Patton is the “epic American war movie that the
Hollywood establishment has always wanted to make but never had the guts to do so.”
Students of Patton have come to understand that man’s love of war and this aspect of the human
personality are conveyed throughout the film. Specifically, standing on a battlefield in France, Patton said the following regarding war: “I love it. God help me, I love it so. I love it more than my
life.” Schjeldahl (1970) is critical of the film insofar as it portrays an “American hero” as someone who is unlike the classic America. According to Schjeldahl (1970, 107):
[Patton] is portrayed as surrounded by universally decent, peace-preferring men,
notably Karl Malden’s saccharine, nice-guy Omar Bradley men for whom ‘loving
it’ is an utterly alien idea…Americans are a war-like people. What was peculiarly refreshing and especially terrifying about Patton was that he saw no need to deny that
fact. What is hateful about ‘Patton’ is that its makers saw fit, for the sake of turning
out a slick, seamless epic, to treat his candor in such a way as to make it seem a lie.
Regardless, Patton received popular and critical acclaim, having won eight Academy awards, including Best Picture. According to Henry Hart, chairman of the National Board of Review of
Motion Pictures, Patton’s success can be attributed to the fact that it “is one of the very few
biofilms which have depicted, with exceptional cinematic skill, the bad as well as the good about
a contemporary personality” (Weiler 1970, 40).
The opening scene of Patton is brilliant in its simplicity and inspiring given its message. Standing before an American flag that fills the backdrop in full dress uniform with numerous rows of medals and
ribbons prominently displayed, General Patton (portrayed by George C. Scott) speaks passionately and
poetically to the members of the Third Army on the eve of Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of
Normandy). Patton’s delivery and words are unforgettable, as demonstrated in the following excerpt:
Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his
country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.
Men, all this stuff you’ve heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to
stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. All
real Americans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the
champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball player, the toughest boxer. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play
to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.
That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very
thought of losing is hateful to Americans.
The aforementioned excerpt reflects Patton’s desire to instill a sense of duty among the members
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of the Third Army. The General appealed to their sense of pride, suggesting that it is un-American to be cowardly or to shy away from a battle. The opening scene of Patton is, without question, one of the most recognizable scenes of any motion picture. Its impact and message are
lasting, as it conveys the importance of courage under fire and honoring one’s commitment to the
fullest. These tenets remain part of the American ethic, and they were so intensely conveyed by
George C. Scott. According to Canby (1970b, 85), Patton’s speech “is one of astonishing arrogance, a jingoistic tour de force, full of enthusiasm for the butchery to come and reeking with the
assumption that there is a God who is, of course, on the side of the Allies.”
Patton in North Africa
Subsequent to Patton’s speech, the audience sees a Tunisian battlefield (Kasserine Pass in 1943)
littered with American soldiers and scorched tanks. At this battlefield, General Omar Bradley and
his officers ponder the reasons underpinning such a devastating loss at the hands of the German
Afrika Corps. They argued that the American Second Corps was undisciplined and ill prepared,
and one of General Bradley’s subordinates suggests using Patton to solve this problem. Ever
flamboyant, Patton arrives at the Headquarters of the Second Corps in his halftrack with its siren
screaming. Patton wants everyone to take notice. He announces his presence with authority so
as to convey that changes will be made, and that the Second Corps is fully under his command.
Discipline is emphasized, as Patton tells General Bradley that lack of discipline is at the heart
of the matter. “You want to know why this outfit got the hell kicked out of it? A blind man could
see it in a minute. They don’t look like soldiers. They don’t act like soldiers. Why should they
be expected fight like soldiers?” As a consequence, the culture of the Second Corps experiences
a revolutionary change of style. Discipline is instilled at all costs. This is exemplified when Patton fines a cook $20 for not wearing his leggings (part of a soldier’s regulation military dress).
Subsequent to fining the cook, Patton makes a general announcement that any soldier not properly dressed will be “skinned.” While the General’s threat may seem hyperbolic, this does not
diminish the weight of his message: discipline and order are prerequisites for success. Patton
quickly straightens out the units of the Second Corps, eventually leading them to victory against
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel and his Tenth Panzer Division at El Guettar in North Africa.
Relief of Bastogne
The picture further highlights the virtues of meticulous preparation and strategic planning by an
incident at Bastogne. In December 1944, Patton’s Third Army was moving steadily across France
toward the German border. In the film, General Bradley notifies Patton of German activity in the
Ardennes region – a heavily wooded region that is primarily situated in Belgium and Luxembourg. At the time, Patton felt that there was no reason to believe that the Germans would mount
a major offensive given the difficulty of negotiating the heavily wooded terrain. Also, the weather
was frigid, the snow was heavy, and German supplies were running low. Ironically, it is precisely
for these reasons that Patton believed a German offensive was imminent in the Ardennes region.
The enemy activity that General Bradley spoke of was the beginning of the Ardennes Offensive,
more commonly referred to by Americans as the Battle of the Bulge.
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The film shows the virtue of foresight and strategic planning. In one particular scene, Patton orders his staff to make preparations for pulling the Third Army out of its eastward attack and
changing directions to the north toward Luxembourg, which would enable Patton’s forces to strike
the underbelly of the German Ardennes offensive. Patton tells his staff to make contingency plans
for three possible routes of attack north from their current position in Arlon, France: to Diekirch,
Neufchateau, and Bastogne. Subsequently, Patton meets with several Allied commanders in Verdun, France; this scene shows the virtue of strategic planning and preparation, which is highlighted in the following exchange among American and British commanders:
English Commander One: Our immediate concern is that von Rundstedt has the
101st Airborne trapped here at Bastogne..
General Smith: Bastogne, by the way, is the key to this entire area. If we can hold
it, we can break up the entire German offensive. If they take it, we’re in serious
trouble. Ike wants to know if anyone can get up there and relieve the 101st before
they are torn to pieces.
English Commander Two: I’m afraid there’s nothing that Field Marshall Montgomery can do…anyway, not for some weeks.
General Smith: What about you, George [Patton]?
General Patton: I can attack with three divisions in 48 hours.
General Bradley: Well, I’d give myself some leeway if I were you.
General Smith: Ike wants a realistic estimate, George. You’re in a fight now, and
its over 100 miles to Bastogne.
General Patton: My staff is already working on the details.
Because of Patton’s strategic planning and meticulous coordination – that is, foreseeing the German offensive and preparing contingency plans for three potential points of attack, which included the besieged city of Bastogne – the Third Army was able to relieve the 101st Airborne at
Bastogne and the German offensive failed. This ultimately marked the beginning of the end of
the European theatre of war.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Saving Private Ryan gives its audience a frightening and realistic look at the Omaha Beach landing
during D-Day. As the gunfire explosions rage throughout the film’s opening sequence, the audience
is furnished with a portrayal of combat that is less than glorious. Spielberg shows the brutality of war
through vivid yet terrifying imagery and cinematography. For example, an American GI is shown
staggering in disarray searching for the lower half of his arm, which was severed by a piece of shrapnel. From the perspective of the German machine gun posts, the viewer is shown a beachhead that is
littered with fallen soldiers. As the waves crash into the shore, they are red with the blood of those who
made the ultimate sacrifice in helping to achieve a most noble and extraordinary accomplishment.
While Saving Private Ryan conveys the brutality of combat, it does so without implying that
American combat soldiers are inherently brutal or savage. They are portrayed as courageous inPublic Voices Vol. XI No. 1
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dividuals that do not relish the glory of combat, wanting simply to defeat totalitarianism and return home to lives they left behind. According to Bodner (2004),
While the Spielberg film reveals the brutality of war, it preserves the World War
II image of the American soldiers as inherently adverse to bloodshed and cruelty…At its rhetorical core, the story’s argument would have seemed very familiar to audiences in the 1940s: the common American soldier was fundamentally a
good man who loved his country and his family. He went to war out of a sense of
duty to both…
Harper (2001) contends that this film “enhances our current nostalgia for the ‘Good War.’ Gratitude to the ‘greatest generation’ moved many people to see Private Ryan.” Perhaps most importantly, Private Ryan served to remind us what can be accomplished when “its citizens unite in a
cause with a weight of moral rightness behind it” (Carr 1998, C9).
The Search for Private James Ryan
While unforgettable, the Omaha Beach landing is only a minor segment of the film. The film’s
main plot centers on a fictitious mission handed down by General George C. Marshall. Although
the search for Private James Ryan did not occur, the events surrounding this tale provide a sense
of realism as to the day-to-day lives of the American infantryman. Captain John Miller (portrayed
by Tom Hanks) and his men are ordered to rescue Private James Ryan given that Ryan’s three
brothers were killed in combat. In their search for Ryan, Captain Miller and his men encounter a
German machine gun bunker hidden in the French countryside. The men desire to go around the
bunker and avoid danger altogether. Captain Miller, however, displays rational leadership in
choosing the more difficult of two paths, which is shown in the following exchange between Captain Miller and his men.
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Captain Miller: Well, it looks like we’ve got something. A sand bag bunker right
underneath the station.
Sergeant Horvath: Yeah.
Corporal Upham: What is it?
Sergeant Horvath: Machine gun…probably an MP 42.
Private Reiben: I don’t know how fast the rest of you betties are, but I’m thinking
if we detour this way quick and quiet, the Krauts’ll never know we were even here.
So, Captain, what I’m trying to say is why don’t we just go around the thing?
Captain Miller: I hear what you’re saying. But, we can’t go around it.
Private Jackson: I’m with Reiben on this one, Sir.
Private Mellish: Captain, we can skip it and accomplish our mission. I mean this
isn’t our mission. Right, Sir?
Captain Miller: Is that what you want to do, Mellish? You just want to leave it [the
machine gun nest] here so they can ambush the next Company that comes along?
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Private Mellish: No, Sir, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m simply saying it seems
like an unnecessary risk given our objective, Sir.
Captain Miller: Our objective it to win the war.
Private Reiben: Sir, I don’t have good feeling about this one.
Captain Miller: When was the last time you had a good feeling about anything?
From a management standpoint, the lesson here is that shortcuts have consequences. Doing what
is easy or expedient will likely engender undesired long-term results. Even though one of Captain Miller’s men was killed, the decision to attack the German machine gun bunker, more than
likely, saved lives. Managers must be able to cope with difficult decisions, and they must be able
to make these decisions in the context of a utilitarian ideal. That is to suggest that all managers,
regardless of the type of organization they are charged with guiding, must operate under the assumption that the aggregate good is paramount.
The Great Escape (1963)
The Great Escape is heroic classic that chronicles Allied POWs and their successful escape from
a German prison camp. Steve McQueen’s character (Captain Hilts) is portrayed as the quintessential American officer. Captain Hilts is brash, confident, and sardonic when in the presence of
authority. These qualities, however, differentiate Hilts from the other Allies, thereby designating
him the de facto leader of the prisoners. Hilt’s qualities are best portrayed in his exchange with
the Kommandant of the prison camp.
Kommandant: What were you doing by the wire?
Captain Hilts: Well, like I told Max…(Hilts pauses) I was trying to cut my way
through the wire because I want to get out (Hilts takes out a pair of wire cutters
concealed beneath his cloths and hands them to the Kommandant).
Kommandant: You are the first American officer I have met. Hilts, isn’t it?
Captain Hilts: Captain Hilts, actually.
Kommandant: Seventeen escape attempts.
Captain Hilts: Eighteen.
Kommandant: Tunnel man, engineer?
Captain Hilts: Flyer.
Kommandant: As opposed to what’s called in the American Army…a hotshot pilot.
Unfortunately, you were shot down anyway. So, we are both grounded for the duration of the war.
Captain Hilts: Well, you speak for yourself, Colonel.
Kommandant: You have other plans?
Captain Hilts: I haven’t seen Berlin yet…from the ground or the air, and I plan on
doing both before the war is over.
Kommandant: Are all American officers so ill mannered?
Captain Hilts: Yeah, about 99 percent.
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Kommandant: Then perhaps with us you’ll have a chance to learn some. TEN
DAYS ISOLATION, Hilts.
Captain Hilts: (Pulling his collar forward showing his rank) Captain Hilts.
Kommandant: Twenty days.
Captain Hilts: Right…you’ll still be here when I get out? (Sarcasm emphasized)
Even though they are imprisoned, the Allies work toward aiding the war effort – as well as themselves. Specifically, if the men were to engineer a large-scale escape (approximately 250 prisoners), then the Germans would be forced to pull men from the battlefield in order to capture the
escapees and refortify the POW camp. This is precisely what the Allies attempt to accomplish.
They are systematic and calculated in their approach. The Allies’ approach could be described as
Weberian in that each man is responsible for a specialized task tailored to his military training.
Some of the specialized tasks include tunnel digging, intelligence gathering, planning and carrying out diversions, acquiring maps and surveys of the campgrounds, and even sewing clothing so
that the escapees will be able to blend in with the masses.
The Great Escape is more than a film depicting the intricate plans of a wartime prison break. The
film underscores the importance of values – namely, unity, cooperation, camaraderie, and, above
all, sacrifice. Specifically, Captain Hilts volunteers to escape and then allows himself to be caught.
While this seems counterintuitive, Hilts does this so that the Allies will have all of the necessary
intelligence should they manage to make it past the prison fences. For instance, the Allies need
to know where the closest town and railway station are, in addition to where specific roads lead
to and if there are German units stationed nearby the camp. Captain Hilts provides his comrades
with this information and gives up his freedom in the process.
Conclusion
Throughout Patton (1970), discipline is a central tenet. General Patton instills discipline at all
costs among the members of the Second Corps after their failed campaigns throughout North
Africa. No exceptions are made. The General imposes what appears to be a draconian style when
it comes to enforcing even the most minor rules and regulations, embracing a classic Theory X
management style in what could be considered a time of crisis (McGregor 1957). General Patton
further relies on strategic planning to help thwart the final German offensive. In Saving Private
Ryan, Captain Miller underscores the importance of not straying from the group’s fundamental
goals in order to achieve a short-term objective. As the younger, rank and file soldiers rationalize avoiding a machine gun bunker because doing so would not prevent them from accomplishing their short-term objective (i.e., finding Private Ryan), Captain Miller cautions against being
short-sighted. Interjected here is rationale decision-making as well. Miller argues that bypassing
the machine gun nest will likely cost more lives in the long-term, thus counterproductively impacting the war effort in general. The Allied POWs in The Great Escape rely on the coordination
of their individual talents and specialized training to hatch an intricate escape plan, the sole purpose of which is to divert manpower and resources from the battlefronts, thus aiding the Allied
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war effort. Finally, a central tenet through each of these films is what Henri Fayol might refer to
as esprit de corps. Instilled throughout the three films was the idea of duty and honor to the group
and the task at hand. This notion of duty – or striving to accomplish something that is more important than oneself – is arguably a central component to all successful organizations, most notably Japanese management models as highlighted by Deming (1982) and Ouchi (1981).
References
Basinger, J. (1986). The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre. New York: Columbia
University Press.
Bodnar, J. (2004). “Saving Private Ryan and Postwar Memory in America.” The American
Historical Review. 106 (3).
Canby, V. (February 5, 1970a). The Screen: Patton: ‘Salute to a Rebel.’ The New York Times.
Canby, V. (February 8,1970b). “Patton: He Loved War.” The New York Times.
Carr, J. (December 27, 1998). Variety Show; Best Movies for 1998.” The Boston Globe.
Deming, W.E. (1982). Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Doherty, T. (1993). Projections of War: Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II. New
York: Columbia University Press.
Harper, H. (2001). “The Military and Society: Reaching and Reflecting Audiences in Fiction and
Film. Armed Forces and Society. 27(2).
Holzer, M, Morris, K, and Ludwin, W. (1979). Literature in Bureaucracy: Readings in Administrative Fiction. Wayne, NJ: Avery Publishing, Inc.
Manvell, R. (1974). Films and the Second World War. London: J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd.
McAdams, F. (2002). The American War Film. Westport, CT: Praeger.
McCormick, P. (1999). “War is a Hell of a Movie.” U.S. Catholic. 64 (5).
McGregor, D. (1957). The Human Side of Enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mitgang, A. (September 23, 1955). “To Hell and Back.” The New York Times.
Ouchi, W. (1981). Theory Z. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
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Schjeldahl, P. (January 14, 1970). “Is ‘Patton’ a Lie?” The New York Times.
Suid, L.H. (2002). Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky.
Waldo, D. (1968). The Novelist on Organization and Administration: An Inquiry into the
Relationship Between Two Worlds. Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkley.
Weiler, A.H. (January 4, 1971). “National Board of Review Picks ‘Patton’ as Best Movie
of 1970.” The New York Times.
Dr. Richard W. Schwester teaches at the Department of Public Management, John Jay College
of Criminal Justice (CUNY).
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